D 


N 


AN  CINQ 


AS  A 

OF  T1 
UNIVERSITY  i)\ 


Christian  Amusement. 


OAK  ST.  s":' 


BY  THE  j 

r 

Rev.  GEORGE  C.  HECKMANN,  D.D., 

1933 

UNIV£HS|)y  yf  P. 

i 


PHILADELPHIA :  . 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBlJf!ATIONt 

1334  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


Intel’edl^cording  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  tne  year  1879  by 
THE  TRUSTEES  OE  THE 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION, 
j th^Qffibe  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


4  ^ 


y  Westcott  &  Thomson, 

Strrtotypers  land  Electrdtypers *  PhilddUi 


\ 


LI prtRY  ..  ' 

H5.V  A  0f  ™E 

WIMJJNOb 

DANCING. 


UBiARY 

- — . — — - - - — 

-  .  UNIVERSITY  Or  U-LLI* 

The  scriptural  titles  of  a  minister  of  Je¬ 
sus  Christ  are  suggestive.  Among  them  are 
“watchman,”  “shepherd”  and  “bishop.” 

The  particular  charge  which  the  pastor  is  to 
wafoh,  to  feed  and  to  oversee  is  “  the  Church 


of  God,  which  he  has  purchased  with  his 
own  blood.”  When  any  social  amusement, 
fashionable  custom,  secular  business  or  heret¬ 
ical  propagandist*!  threatens  the  Church  with 
injury  and  society  with  demoralization,  it  is 
the  right  and  duty  of  the  Christian  pulpit 
or  church-court  to  use  all  proper  means  in 
a  proper  spirit  to  confront,  expose  and  resist 
the  threatening  danger.  This  should  be  done 
in  a  kind,  gentle,  respectful  maimer,  not  in  an 


arrogant,  ascetic,  self-righteous  spirit. 

The  amusement  under  discussion  is  sus¬ 
tained  by  the  opinion  and  practice  of  the 
fashionable  world,  and  sometimes,  too,  by 
members  of  the  Church.  I  deem  it  at  least 
questionable,  as  a  barrier  to  the  progress  of 


3 


834927 


4 


DANCING. 


Christian  society,  as  unfriendly  to  virtue  and 
grace,  and  as  a  leaven  of  individual  and  social 
corruption.  Can  this  conviction  be  sustained? 
The  recreation  is  seeking  recognition  and  en¬ 
couragement  in  families  and  churches  where 
once  it  was  utterly  excluded.  Is  this  a  neces¬ 
sary  consequence  of  our  growth  in  wealth  and 
evangelical  liberality?  This  fact,  and  the 
recent  and  continuous  deliverances  of  every 
grade  of  church-courts,  make  it  a  timely 
theme  for  our  consideration. 

Let  us  first  consider  and  answer  some  of 
the  most  plausible  defences  of  dancing. 

1.  Honest  appeal  has  been  made  to  the  au¬ 
thority  of  Scripture  in  favor  of  this  amuse¬ 
ment.  It  has  been  found  in  such  a  passage 
as  this,  “  There  is  a  time  to  dance,”  and  in 
the  example  of  such  worthies  as  Miriam  and 
David.  A  reliable  writer,  whose  criticism  my 
personal  examination  sustains,  says  :  “  I  have 
consulted  every  passage  in  the  Bible  which 
speaks  of  dancing,  from  all  which  it  appears 
— 1.  That  dancing  was  a  religious  act,  both 
in  true  and  also  in  idol-worship.  2.  That 
it  was  practiced  exclusively  on  joyful  occa¬ 
sions,  such  as  national  festivals  or  great  vie- 


DANCING. 


5 


tories.  3.  That  it  was  performed  on  such 
great  occasions  by  one  only  of  the  sexes, 
4.  That  it  was  performed  usually  in  the  day¬ 
time  in  the  open  air — in  the  highways,  fields 
and  groves.  5.  That  men  who  perverted 
dancing  from  a  sacred  use  to  purposes  of 
amusement  were  deemed  infamous.  6.  That 
no  instances  of  dancing  are  found  upon  rec¬ 
ord  in  the  Bible  in  which  the  two  sexes  unit¬ 
ed  in  the  exercise  either  as  an  act  of  worship 
or  amusement.  7.  That  there  are  no  instances 
on  record  in  the  Bible  of  social  dancing  for 
amusement,  except  that  of  the  i  vain  fellows 9 
void  of  shame  alluded  to  by  Michal,  of  the 
irreligious  families  described  by  Job,  which 
produced  increased  impiety  and  ended  in  de¬ 
struction,  and  of  Herod  ias’  daughter,  which 
terminated  in  the  rash  vow  of  Herod  and  the 
murder  of  John  the  Baptist/’  The  sum  of 
this  biblical  testimony  is  that  the  dancing  ap¬ 
proved  was  in  every  respect  very  different 
from  the  modern  amusement  bearing  the 
name,  that  it  was  performed  on  great  na¬ 
tional  and  religious  occasions  by  the  sexes 
separately  as  a  spiritual  exercise,  that  its  per¬ 
version  to  amusement  was  regarded  as  a  sac- 


6 


DANCING. 


rilege,  and  that  in  every  case  where  it  is  men¬ 
tioned  as  a  social  amusement  it  is  associated 
wTith  condemnation  or  circumstances  of  hor¬ 
ror.  Pastors  will  find  the  study  of  these 
passages  repaid  by  a  full,  interesting  and  in¬ 
structive  line  of  argument  different  from  that 
which  follows  in  this  essay. 

2.  It  is  urged  that  dancing  is  a  healthful 

exercise.  I  shall  deny  this  of  fashionable 
dancing.  But  even  if  it  were  admitted, 
would  it  be  a  sufficient  justification  of  a 
practice  which  many  weighty  objections  make 
at  least  of  questionable  propriety  ?  “  Bodily 

exercise  ”  (ascetic  or  otherwise)  “  profiteth  a 
little,”  but  that  little  would  be  sadly  pur¬ 
chased  by  the  price  of  “  godliness,  which  is 
profitable  unto  all  things,  having  the  promise 
of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which  is 
to  come.”  The  pursuit  of  physical  health  by 
many  innocent  and  delightful  ways  accessible 
to  all  needs  not  the  addition  of  an  exercise 
seriously  objectionable  on  moral  and  religious 
grounds. 

3.  It  is  said  that  dancing  promotes  grace¬ 
ful  movement  and  polite  manners.  These  are 
attainments  which  we  ought  to  seek,  for  they 


DANCING. 


7 


are  important  elements  of  personal  attraction 
and  usefulness,  alike  desirable  in  society  and 
in  the  Church.  They  should  be  taught  and 
sought  by  all  means  that  do  not  entail  conse¬ 
quences  dangerous  to  health,  beauty  and  pur¬ 
ity.  It  is  admitted  that  instruction  and  prac¬ 
tice  in  dancing  do  contribute  to  ease  and  grace 
of  movement,  but,  as  shall  be  seen,  at  the  risk 
of  bodily,  mental  and  moral  injury.  Early 
instruction,  judicious  labor  and  regular  out¬ 
door  exercise,  as  in  play,  walking,  riding  and 
gymnastics,  will  produce  far  greater  ease  and 
dignity,  strength  and  grace  of  movement. 
This  is  proven  by  innumerable  instances  all 
around  us  of  persons  who  never  set  foot  in 
the  dance,  and  thus  were  never  exposed  to 
the  wanton  freedom  of  attitude  and  manner 
so  commonly  inculcated  in  the  dancing-school 
and  encouraged  in  the  ball-room.  It  is  fair 
to  remark  here  that  some  calisthenic  exercises 
in  our  mixed  schools  are  open  to  the  objec¬ 
tions  which  lie  against  promiscuous  dancing. 

4.  In  favor  of  dancing  is  urged  that  it  is 
fashionable.  True,  and  many  would  not  dance 
or  allow  dancing  if  it  were  not  fashionable; 
they  yield  to  the  fashion  with  a  secret  protest 


8 


DANCING. 


of  their  moral  sense.  Many  other  enormous 
evils  which  burden  society  are  fashionable. 
Fashion  is  often  a  most  dangerous  enemy  to 
grace.  It  has  lured  unnumbered  souls  to 
ruin,  and  its  testimony  in  favor  of  any  prac¬ 
tice  should  at  once  awaken  suspicion.  Yet 
fashion  has  its  legitimate  place  and  is  entitled 
to  a  large  share  of  respect;  but  when  it  ap¬ 
proves  and  advocates  any  custom  or  amuse¬ 
ment  objectionable  on  physical  or  moral 
grounds,  it  should  be  rejected  by  all,  espe¬ 
cially  by  those  who  are  “  not  to  be  conformed 
to  the  world.” 

5.  It  is  said  that  dancing  is  not  sinful  in 
itself.  Just  so,  but  then  the  plea  implies  that 
it  may  be  sinful.  This  plea  should  always 
awaken  close  inquiry  as  to  the  propriety  of 
any  recreation  in  defence  of  which  it  is  em¬ 
ployed,  although  it  is  often  lawfully  and  unan¬ 
swerably  used.  Its  admission  will  not  weaken 
our  position  if  the  real,  not  the  ideal,  dance  of 
modern  fashionable  society  is  proven  sinful 
and  improper.  The  plea  is  made  mainly  to 
justify  family  and  non-promiscuous  dancing. 
What  are  we  to  understand  by  non-promis- 
cuous  dancing?  Is  it  dancing  by  one  sex 


DANCING. 


9 


alone,  or  only  by  members  of  the  family  or 
kindred  or  neighbors?  Or  does  it  include 
all  of  a  given  social  circle  and  the  strangers 
who  may  be  introduced  by  them  ?  And  may 
any  lady  or  gentleman  exclude  any  other  one 
who,  though  belonging  to  the  family  or  social 
circle,  ought  for  good  reasons  be  excluded 
from  the  familiarities  of  the  dance?  How 
difficult  to  define  non-promiscuous  dancing! 
How  hard  to  get  up  dancing-parties  that  are 
not  promiscuous  !  How  can  you  restrict  dan¬ 
cing  to  select  company?  How  can  you  restrain 
within  prescribed  bounds  the  passion  you  have 
educated  ?  In  this,  too,  we  perceive  the  sub¬ 
tlety  of  Satan,  and  that  “  the  beginning  of 
sin  is  like  the  letting  out  of  water.”  Indulge 
your  children  in  the  occasional  and  abstemious 
usg  of  intoxicating  drinks  at  the  family  board 
or  evening-party,  and  you  create  an  appetite 
that  may  be  satisfied  only  with  the  indulgence 
of  the  bar  and  the  inebriate.  Gather  them 
round  the  card-table,  and  you  invite  them  to 
the  doors  and  experience  of  the  gambling- 
saloon.  Provide  private  theatricals,  and  you 
may  arouse  an  appetite  which  will  seek  gratifi¬ 
cation  amid  the  corrupt  surroundings  and  im- 


10 


DANCING. 


pure  teachings  of  the  public  drama.  Private 
dancing  supplies  the  ball-room  as  does  the 
nursery  the  orchard  or  the  school  the  college. 
It  is  urged  that  liability  to  perversion  or  ex¬ 
cess  cannot  be  conclusive  against  a  practice  or 
indulgence,  as  in  the  case  of  eating,  drinking; 
sleeping,  and  the  like.  Admitted,  but  these 
are  necessities  of  nature,  duties  of  life,  in  the 
use  or  non-use  of  which  we  have  no  choice, 
and  it  is  denied  that  they  are  necessarily  or 
generally  liable  to  abuse;  whereas  dancing  is 
not  a  necessity  of  nature  or  duty  of  life,  and 
is  generally  productive  of  some  form  *and 
measure  of  bodily,  mental  and  moral  injury. 
Besides,  so  long  as  family  and  square  dances 
are  vindicated,  you  protest  almost  in  vain 
again  the  ball-room  and  round  dances.  But 
the  objections  I  shall  urge  against  dancing  as 
it  is  apply  to  it  as  an  amusement  under  any 
and  all  circumstances. 

6.  It  has  been  argued  that  dancing  is  not 
expressly  forbidden  in  the  Bible.  I  think 
that  is  true :  and  yet  even  if  it  be  true,  of 
what  force  is  the  argument?  Must  we  have 
an  express  declaration  of  the  Bible  to  know 
the  moral  nature  and  lawfulness  of  every  ac- 


DANCING. 


11 


fion,  sentiment  or  custom?  Have  we  any 
such  declaration  as  to  the*  slave-trade  or 
arson  or  gambling  or  the  theatre  or  obscene 
literature?  And  yet  what  mind  enlightened 
by  Scripture  can  hesitate  to  believe  that  these 
things  are  as  forcibly  forbidden  by  the  spirit 
and  implications  of  the  Bible  as  they  could 
be  by  direct  declaration?  Now,  if  dancing 
is  hostile  to  the  spirit  of  the  Bible  and  to 
that  life  which  the  Bible  enjoins,  then  it  is 
forbidden  by  the  Bible. 

7.  It  is  charged  in  palliation  of  dancing 
that  those  who  object  to  it  amuse  themselves 
in  ways  as  objectionable,  or  more  so.  This  is 
assertion,  not  argument,  but  it  is  so  often 
made  that  with  many  it  has  the  force  of 
argument.  But  the  intelligent  and  really 
pious  people  who  object  to  dancing  are  not 
given  to  those  kinds  of  amusement.  Besides, 
the  choice  is  not  left  us  which  of  objection¬ 
able  amusements  we  shall  select:  all  are  alike 
forbidden.  Rather  than  apologize  for  the 
dancing  of  some  by  the  card-playing,  or 
even  the  evil  gossip,  of  others,  it  would  be 
safer  to  suspect  that  the  entire  atmosphere  of 
such  society  was  tainted.  Must  the  alterna- 


12 


DANCING. 


tive  be  dancing  or  gossip?  Are  these  the 
boundaries  of  rational  and  moral  capacities 
in  the  matter  of  social  recreation?  I  pity 
the  individual  or  company  whose  culture  is 
so  limited.  Besides,  on  reflection,  I  am  per¬ 
suaded  that  gossip  is  less  dangerous  than 
dancing,  and  I  think  it  can  be  shown  that 
dancers  have  not  a  monopoly  of  intelligent 
and  virtuous  conversation.  It  must  be  imbe¬ 
cile  society  indeed  that  cannot  find  pastimes  at 
once’ pleasant,  proper  and  profitable. 

8.  Lastly,  with  a  painful  insensibility  to 
parental  obligation,  it  has  been  pressed  apol¬ 
ogetically  for  dancing  that  “young  people  will 
be  amused,  and  if  you  restrain  them  in  one 
thing  they  will  indulge  in  another.”  Now, 
to  the  first  point  I  reply  that  we  want  young 
people,  and  old  too,  to  be  amused ;  whilst  the 
second  I  deny,  and  assert  that  the  young,  re¬ 
strained  in  wrong-doing,  are  apt  to  keep  from 
wrong-doing,  and  those  indulged  in  one  wrong 
thing  will  indulge  in  other  wrong  things.  In 
fact,  the  assertion  is  a  devil’s  blow  at  all  pa¬ 
rental  restraint  and  responsibility.  It  contra¬ 
dicts  God  and  affronts  his  government  of  man¬ 
hood.  To  admit  it  either  as  a  principle  of 


DANCING. 


13 


action  or  an  excuse  for  neglect  is  to  remove 
all  restraint  upon  or  in  anything  and  every¬ 
thing.  It  is  a  parent’s  duty  to  forbid  all  im¬ 
proper  associations  and  practices ;  and  if,  in 
spite  of  parental  fidelity,  a  child  succeeds  in  .* 
the  gratification  of  evil  propensities,  then  the 
guilt  rests  upon  the  child,  and  the  blood  of 
betrayed  trust  will  not  fall  upon  the  parent.. 

Another  sophistry  of  parental  indolence 
and  devilish  malignity  is,  “  Let  a  child  learn 
the  evil  for  itself.”  Then  grant  it  the  largest' 
license,  indulgence  in  everything!  But  no. 
Experience  of  evil  is  not  necessary  to  the 
knowledge  of  evil,  nor  does  such  experience,, 
as  does  the  want  of  it,  swell  the  sum  of  our 
moral  force ;  nor  does  the  experience  of  evil, 
as  does  the  gracious  absence  of  it,  intensify 
abhorrence  and  rejection  of  evil.  Nor  is  it 
necessary  that  the  experience  of  moral  evil,, 
any  more  than  of  physical  evil,  should  be 
individual  and  universal  in  order  to  the  pre¬ 
vention  or  cure  of  evil,  general  or  particular.. 
Parental  knowledge,  whether  earned  by  expe¬ 
rience  or  observation,  should  be  employed  for 
the  protection  of  the  child,  and,  as  to  dancing,, 
is  as  valuable  and  should  wield  as  strong  au- 


2 


14 


DANCING, 


thority  as  in  anything  else  as  injurious.  Let 
your  children  suffer  by  your  example  or  cul¬ 
pable  neglect,  and  they  will  thank  you  in 
neither  time  nor  eternity,  nor  will  you  es¬ 
cape  the  displeasure  of  the  almighty  Father 
of  the  children, 

I  have  made  an  honest  endeavor  to  cover 
the  ground  generally  and  plausibly  occupied 
lin  favor  of  dancing  as  a  social  amusement, 
jlf  any  point  in  its  favor  has  been  omitted,, 
it  is  because  I  am  ignorant  of  it,  and  not 
from  any  desire  to  avoid  it.  Nor  do  I  de¬ 
sire  to  diminish,  but  to  increase,  lawful  amuse¬ 
ments.  I  myself  like  to  be  amused,  and  I  am 
easily  amused.  The  man  who  invents  an  in¬ 
nocent  amusement,  or  who,  without  vulgarity 
or  impurity,  makes  mankind  laugh,  is  a  public 
benefactor,  as  well  as  the  man  who  makes  two* 
blades  of  grass  grow  where  but  one  could 
grow  before.  We  owe  a  large  debt  to  our 
pure  humorists.  If  I  were  a  heathen  like 
Socrates,  I  would,  for  sanitary  reasons,  offer 
a  cock  to  JEsculapius  for  every  one  of  them ; 
but  as  I  am  not  a  heathen,  nor  a  Socrates  either, 
I  thank  God  for  them.  But  I  cannot  commend 
or  encourage  an  amusement  which  constantly 


DANCING. 


U 


needs  to  be  defended,  and  by  defences  so  weak, 
against  the  large  majority  of  the  best  people 
of  all  religious  sects,  and  against  the  judg¬ 
ment  of  so  many  of  the  best  and  wisest  peor 
pie  of  the  world.  , 

It  already  appears  that  social  dancing  is  at 
least  a  very  questionable  amusement,  and  that 
ought  to  be  enough — it  is  enough — for  serious 
Christians  or  thoughtful  parents.  It  also  ap¬ 
pears  that  the  defences  of  social  dancing  are 
really  weak,  and  must  yield  to  the  pressure 
of  substantial  objections.  To  such  I  now 
address  myself,  I  ask  permission  to  press 
upon  your  candid  consideration  some  reasons 
why,  as  a  father,  a  Christian  and  a  minister, 
I  must  enter  my  protest  against  this  social 
amusement.  I  will  try  to  do  this  kindly, 
truthfully,  and  with  an  earnestness  that  yet 
deprecates  resentment,  for  I  cannot  afford  to 
lose,  nor  can  any  man  afford  to  lose,  friend¬ 
ships,  except  in  the  path  of  duty. 


I.  Effect  of  Dancing  on  Bodily 


Health. 


As  this  presents  perhaps  the  strongest  and 
most  plausible  defence  of  this  amusement,  it 


16 


DANCING. 


may  seem  hazardous  to  assail  it,  and  safer,  in 
the  strength  of  other  objections,  to  let  this 
point  pass.  Yet  I  must  unhesitatingly  de¬ 
clare  dancing  in  its  most  popular  forms  an 
eminently  dangerous  exercise.  We  must  take 
the  custom,  not  under  conceived  conditions, 
but  as  we  find  it  in  ordinary  social  practice. 
With  much  assurance  and  poetry  wre  are  fre¬ 
quently  referred  to  the  healthful  dancing  of 
European  peasantry  as  illustrative  of  its  ben¬ 
eficial  effect  upon  bodily  health  and  grace. 
Yet  certain  areas  of  Europe  and  European 
society  are  not  the  best  sources  from  which  to 
import  customs  and  amusements  for  Ameri¬ 
can  youth  and  the  Christian  home.  If  we 
do,  we  must  also  take  their  morals,  for  the 
manners  and  morals  of  a  people  are  insepa¬ 
rable.  The  peasant-dances  of  sunny  France 
and  Spain  and  Italy  are  performed  upon  the 
green  sward  and  under  the  pure,  exhilarating 
atmosphere  of  heaven,  while  the  moralities 
of  that  peasantry  are  never  recommended  for 
adoption  in  the  homes  of  this  land. 

With  us  the  dance  is  generally  performed 
on  dusty  carpets  and  floors,*  in  heated,  con¬ 
fined,  often  crowded  rooms,  whose  atmosphere 


DANCING. 


17 


is  poisoned  by  the  rapid,  increased  respiration 
of  the  company.  The  movement  is  unnatural, 
violent,  especially  for  women,  producing  un¬ 
healthful  nervous  excitement,  quick  inhala¬ 
tion  of  impure  air  surcharged  with  the  dust 
of  the  floor  and  fine  loosened  j^rticles  of  car¬ 
pets.  The  body  becomes  heated  to  that  de¬ 
gree  that  the  temptation  to  seek  a  colder  at¬ 
mosphere  is  seldom  resisted,  while  frequently 
such  exposure  from  open  doors  and  windows 
is  unavoidable.  The  hours  of  dancing  are 
generally  those  which  Nature  and  science  de¬ 
clare  unfitted  for  exercise,  permitting  only 
gentle  exertion  and  soon  calling  for  entire 
repose. 

The  physical  effects  of  dancing,  then,  are 
great  bodily  debility,  undue  excitement  and 
reactive  prostration  of  the  nervous  system, 
poisoning  and  obstruction  of  the  lungs  and 
throat,  often  resulting  in  hemorrhages  and 
consumption,  palpitation  and  other  diseases 
of  the  heart,  frequent  headaches,  with  their 
train  of  evils,  and  internal  injuries  of  various 
kinds.  This  is  a  strong  indictment  of  dancing* 
but  I  am  sure  it  is  not  exaggerated.  Within 
six  months  of  the  writing  of  this  tract,  I  be- 
2* 


18 


DANCING. 


came  cognizant  of  six  cases  of  sudden  death 
by  dancing.  In  addition  to  these,  while 
preaching  on  this  subject  recently  at  Han¬ 
over,  a  funeral-procession  passed  the  church, 
following  the  remains  of  a  young  woman  who 
died  of  rapid  disease  caused  by  dancing.  Could 
the  truth  be  ascertained,  I  doubt  not  we  all 
would  be  startled  by  the  amount  of  sickness, 
infirmity  and  death  which  wou Id  find  its  chief 
or  only  source  in  this  popular  social  amuse¬ 
ment.  Should  any  one  reply,  “Confine  dan¬ 
cing  to  a  gentle  bodily  movement,  remove  it  to 
the  open  lawn  or  bare  floor,  and  limit  it  to  a 
brief  time,”  I  answer,  “  You  conceive  a  mode 
of  dancing  seldom  or  never  found  in  social 
life,  which  lovers  of  this  pleasure  would  ridi¬ 
cule  and  refuse,  and  which,  therefore,  I  am  not 
called  upon  to  discuss  now.  I  am  now  to  con¬ 
sider  dancing,  not  as  a  calisthenic  exercise  or 
pastime  for  children  under  possible  regula¬ 
tions,  but  as  a  social  amusement,  as  it  actu¬ 
ally  exists  in  present  society,  with  its  usual 
circumstances  and  prevailing  tendencies.” 


DANCING. 


19 


II.  Moral  or  Religious  Considerations 

INVOLVED  IN  THIS  AMUSEMENT. 

Of  course  these  are  the  most  serious,  and 
require  intelligent,  prayerful  and  honest  dis¬ 
cussion,  for  we  wish  to  determine  our  proper 
attitude  as  Christians  to  this  custom. 

1.  Its  Criminal  Waste  of  Time  and  Money . 
— This  commences  with  the  dancing-school, 
and  terminates  only  with  the  close  of  fash¬ 
ionable  life.  I  do  not  object  to  spending 
time  and  money  for  amusement  —  it  is  a 
happy  necessity  of  our  nature,  and,  in  proper 
indulgence,  may  demand  its  share  of  expend¬ 
iture — but  the  time  and  money  consumed  on 
the  dancing-school  I  deem  extravagant  and 
criminal,  because,  if  bodily  health  and  grace 
are  the  objects,  that  expenditure  is  unneces¬ 
sary,  since  these  results  can  be  better  secured 
by  easier  means,  in  better  places,  without  phys¬ 
ical  and  moral  exposure.  In  these  schools  the 
young  acquire  a  taste  for  this  amusement 
which  parental  pride  and  the  weak  ambition 
to  be  esteemed  fashionable  are  not  slack  to 
gratify.  A  vanity  is  aroused  and  cultivated 
which  imperiously  craves  indulgence.  Times 


20 


DANCING. 


and  places  are  set  apart  for  dancing.  Clubs 
are  formed ;  and  when  parents  have  retired, 
young  people  of  both  sexes  prolong  the 
dance  into  the  “  wee  sma’  hours,”  or  under 
the  silent  darkness  find  their  way  home.  As 
the  ball-room  and  assembly,  of  all  places,  are 
those  selected  for  the  exhibition  of  personal 
charms  and  rich  attire,  much  time  and  money 
as  well  as  thought  and  feeling  is  expended 
in  prolonged  preparation  and  upon  costly 
dress  and  ornament.  The  love  of  admira¬ 
tion  and  display  is  innate;  and  once  fairly 
aroused  and  stimulated  by  envy  and  jealous 
rivalry,  it  is  never  satisfied,  being  alike  in¬ 
sensible  to  the  wreck  of  fortune,  the  ruin  of 
souls  and  the  unrelieved  suffering  of  the  poor. 

2.  The  Evil  Associations  of  Dancing . — 
These  commence  in  the  dancing-school.  So¬ 
ciety  looks  with  contempt  upon  the  employ¬ 
ment  of  a  dancing-master.  All  think  they 
know  his  social  position  and  character.  As  a 
class,  dancing-masters  are  excluded  from  the 
intimacies  of  refined  society — are  indolent, 
dissolute  and  bankrupt  in  fortune  or  morals. 
Possibly  this  opinion  does  injustice  to  some 
exceptional  cases.  I  pity  them,  but  I  cannot 


DANCING. 


21 


alter  this  popular  verdict.  Yet  to  such  teach¬ 
ers,  invariably  of  marked  inferiority  of  some 
kind,  in  the  privacy  and  familiarity  of  the 
dancing-school,  fashionable  or  would-be  fash¬ 
ionable  parents  commit  what  they  strive  to 
think  is  only  the  physical  training  of  sons 
and  daughters,  of  whose  bodies  and  souls 
they  must  render  account  at  God’s  awful 
assize.  In  these  schools  children  encounter 
companions  of  various  social  culture  and  po¬ 
sition  as  classmates  and  partners  in  the  dance. 
Though  out  of  school-hours  this  acquaintance 
may  be  ignored,  the  dangerous  moral  impres¬ 
sions  of  this  brief  intimacy  by  touch,  look  or 
word  may  never  be  effaced.  But  generally 
the  school-acquaintance  is  not  ignored.  It 
has  involved  many  families  in  unhappiness 
and  dishonor — enough,  at  least,  to  warn  those 
parents  who  are  apt  to  forget  that  they  are 
appointed  to  select  the  companions  of  their 
children. 

These  evil  associations  are  attendant  on  the 
whole  life  of  the  dancer.  Women  must  take 
such  partners  as  the  accident  of  the  dance 
brings  them,  even  though  it  throws  them 
into  the  hands  and  arms  or  under  the  gloat- 


22 


DANCING. 


ing,  sensual  gaze  of  the  dissipated  and  licen¬ 
tious;  for  Fashion — child  of  Sin  and  Death 
— will  embrace  incarnate  corruption,  though 
reeking  with  the  filth  of  bar-room,  theatre  or 
brothel,  if  only  it  comes  with  gold  and  "gay 
attire  or  respectable  social  connections.  The 
rules  of  this  social  amusement  will  allow  a 
man  guilty  of  every  crime  which  should 
make  women  loathe  him  and  banish  him 
from  all  respectable  company  to  take  liberties 
with  the  person  of  wife  and  sister  and  daugh¬ 
ter  which  under  no  other  circumstances  than 
marriage  would  be  permitted  to  the  man  of 
purest  morals  or  closest  friendship. 

Nor  ought  we  lose  sight  of  those  too  frequent 
adjuncts  to  the  dancing-party — viz.,-  win. =5 
cards,  immodest  dress  and  the  masquerade, 
with  their  demoralizing  consequences.  Some 
may  say  I  am  confounding  things  essentially 
distinct — that  these  evils  are  not  necessary  to 
dancing.  Once  more  you  compel  me  to  reply 
that  we  must  take  things  as  they  are ;  and  I 
ask,  Are  not  these  evils  generally  as  inevita¬ 
ble  upon  dancing  as  are  others  upon  horse¬ 
racing,  wine-drinking,  card-playing  and  the¬ 
atre-going?  We  must  not  only  resolve  things 


DANCING. 


23 


into  their  essential  elements,  but  also  regard 
them  in  their  affinities,  attractions  and  tend¬ 
encies. 

3.  The  Injurious  Effects  of  Dancing  upon 
Mind  and  Heart — Few  passions  take  a 
stronger  hold  or  exercise  a  more  imperious 
sway.  This  amusement  awakens  and  in¬ 
dulges  some  of  the  worst  propensities  of  the 
unrenewed  nature,  and  interferes  with  intel¬ 
lectual  and  moral  improvement.  It  appeals 
to  vanity  by  the  opportunity  it  affords  for  the 
display  of  costly  dress  and  personal  charms ; 
and  this  with  such  force  as  to  induce  immod¬ 
est  exposure,  risk  of  health,  waste  of  time 
and  cruel  extravagance,  a  hardened  selfish¬ 
ness  deaf  to  the  rights  and  feelings  of  others, 
to  the  appeals  of  suffering  and  to  the  duties 
of  benevolence.  It  cultivates  pride  in  per¬ 
sonal  beauty  and  grace,  fashionable  appear¬ 
ance  and  triumph  over  others,  or  else  envy 
dark  and  mean  at  the  superior  accomplish¬ 
ments,  impressions  and  success  of  others. 

But  the  most  objectionable  feature  of  this 
amusement  is  its  tendency  to  sensuality. 
The  movements,  attitudes  and  exposures  of 
the  body,  the  nervous,  passionate  excitement, 


24 


DANCING. 


and  the  undue  license  allowed,  awaken  im¬ 
pure  thoughts  and  feelings  in  which  the  filthy 
and  passionate  revel,  and  which  hold  the  pure 
with  a  fascination  the  nature  of  >vhich  they 
never  analyse  but  to  blush.  Very  few  es¬ 
cape  this  dangerous  state  of  feeling.  Hence 
the  impure  are  always  eager  for  the  dance. 
Hence  dancing  is  one  of  the  propelling  forces 
which  plunge  men  and  women  down  to  prof- 
ligacy,  ruin  and  death ;  while  many  others 
who  escape  these  lower  depths  of  the  pit  in 
secrecy  of  mind  and  heart  learn  to  revel  in 
forbidden  thoughts  and  scenes.  Some  lovely 
and  virtuous,  and  others  cold  and  passionless, 
may  mingle  without  such  injury  in  the  volup¬ 
tuous  mazes  of  the  dance,  but  oh  how  painful 
to  see  loveliness  and  innocence  in  such  fellow¬ 
ship  with  most  hideous  vice,  breathing  this 
tainted  air  and  embracing  pleasure  along  these 
precipices  of  moral  death  ! 

Those  who  have  any  considerable  experi¬ 
ence  or  observation  know  that  these  state¬ 
ments  are  substantially  right,  whether  or  not 
they  have  candor  to  make  the  admission. 
By  the  gentle,  patient,  firm  restraints  and  in¬ 
struction  of  parental  piety  I  have  been  pre- 


DANCING. 


25 


served  from  the  indulgence  of  this  amuse¬ 
ment,  for  which  my  manhood  and  maturer 
judgment  give  a  devout  mother  sincere  and 
loving  gratitude.  Though  without  personal 
experience,  I  am  sure  these  statements  are 
right.  I  judge  from  personal  observation, 
from  frequent  remarks  and  comments  on  the 
dance,  and  from  a  long  array  of  facts.  I  know 
it  from  confessions  made  to  me.  I  believe  it 
from  my  knowledge  of  our  poor,  passionate  na¬ 
ture,  ever  sensitive  to  temptation  in  this  direc¬ 
tion.  I  infer  it  from  my  knowledge  of  those 
who  love  the  dance  as  they  love  nothing  that 
does  not  minister  to  sensuality.  I  know  it 
from  remarks  made  and  eyes  feeding  upon 
the  forms  of  those  in  the  dance  whom  we 
would  never  have  looked  upon  but  with  pur¬ 
ity,  respect  and  honor.  I  know  it  from  the 
dislike  we  feel  in  seeing  those  we  love  and 
cherish  mingling  in  the  dance  with  those 
whose  lives  or  nature  we  abhor,  and  from 
the  shrinking  which  pure  men  feel  on  watch¬ 
ing  wives  and  daughters  in  the  promiscuous 
dance.  I  know  it  from  the  reason  many 
have  given,  and  which  more  could  give,  for 
the  intense  love  they  have  for  the  dance. 

3 


26 


DANCING. 


Christian  parents  and  friends,  I  am  con¬ 
scious  of  the  delicacy  of  this  subject,  that  I 
am  treading  ground  that  needs  cautious  steps, 
that  I  may  be  accused  of  a  pharisaic  prudery, 
and  that  I  may  be  risking  friendships  which 
I  have  no  desire  to  lose.  I  deprecate  your 
displeasure.  But  neither  for  peace  nor  friend¬ 
ship,  nor  from  false,  ill-timed  delicacy,  can  I 
keep  back  convictions  that  have  grown  upon 
my  mind,  not  without  resistance,  which  are 
the  growth  of  much  observation  and  thought 
and  discussion  with  good  and  bad,  wise  and 
foolish — convictions  which  the  corruptions  of 
fashionable  life  have  long  ago  provoked  and 
justified.  I  regard  promiscuous  dancing  as 
a  great  moral  whirlpool ;  and  when  I  see  any 
I  love  within  the  charmed  circle,  I  dread  the 
shock  their  moral  nature  must  sustain,  the 
lifelong  struggle  with  forbidden  feeling  they 
are  calling  into  activity;  I  tremble  lest  some 
of  them  by  successive  steps  be  drawn  down  to 
shame  and  death.  How  can  we  otherwise  re¬ 
gard  an  amusement  which  finds  its  eager  vo¬ 
taries  and  conveys  its  pleasures  in  the  tavern, 
the  gambling-hell,  the  theatre  and  the  brothel, 
as  well  as  in  the  parlor  and  drawing-room  ? 


DANCING. 


27 


How  can  we  otherwise  regard  an  amusement 
which  the  passionate  and  profligate  so  much 
love,  which  furnishes  so  much  food  and  op¬ 
portunity  to  vice,  and  which  leads  to  so  much 
mental  dissipation  ai^  physical  and  moral 
harm  ?  How  can  we  otherwise  regard  a  cus¬ 
tom  which  proffers  to  strangers,  and  invites 
from  them,  liberties  which  should  be  confined 
to  the  nearest  relations  and  domestic  privacy  ? 

4.  Dancing  is  Unfriendly  to  the  Purity  and 
Growth  of  Religious  Life . — (1.)  Dancing  leads 
to  neglect  of  religion.  It  prevents  religious 
impressions  where  they  do  not  exist.  It  is 
a  noticeable  fact  that  a  revival  of  religion 
which  leaves  innocent  amusements  untouched 
breaks  up  all  dancing-clubs  and  parties  with¬ 
in  its  sphere,  and  that  revivals  rarely  occur  in 
those  persons  and  communities  where  dancing 
is  a  prevailing  custom.  All  ministers  regard 
this  amusement  as  more  or  less  hostile  to  re¬ 
ligious  conviction  and  inquiry,  and  the  awak¬ 
ening  of  a  soul  hopeless  while  under  its  fasci¬ 
nation.  There  is  nothing  in  any  of  the  forms 
of  dancing  friendly  to  the  power  of  truth  or 
to  the  spirit  of  holiness,  while  it  is  in  entire 
harmony  with  worldly-mindedness  and  im- 


28 


DANCING. 


penitency.  Nor  is  this  merely  a  negative*  In¬ 
fluence.  The  spirit  of  the  amusement  is  one 
of  positive  hostility  to  pure  religion.  When 
the  world  desires  to  secularize  the  Church  or 
defeat  its  evangelical  purposes,  dancing  is 
sure  to  be  prominent  and  effective  among  the 
means  employed.  Worldly  people,  alarmed 
at  the  religious  thoughtfulness  or  consistency 
of  children  or  companions,  will  seek  to  en¬ 
gage  them  in  the  dance,  well  appreciating  its 
antagonism  to  a  Christian  life.  In  those  in¬ 
fidel  schemes  which  deride  and  denounce  the 
Bible  and  the  present  structure  of  society 
dancing  is  introduced  because  of  its  hostility 
to  serious  reflection,  to  religious  thought  and 
to  social  purity. 

(2.)  Dancing  is  prominent  as  a  worldly 
amusement.  Although  the  world  has  often 
appealed  to  the  support  of  the  Bible  and  the 
Church,  still  it  freely  admits  that  this  amuse¬ 
ment  is  not  religious — has  no  reference  to  the 
approval,  worship  or  honor  of  God.  Nay  ! 
On  account  of  its  acknowledged  frivolity  and 
worldliness,  many  persons  other  than  religious 
are  properly  excluded  from  it.  An  eminent 
writer  puts  these  pertinent  and  caustic  in- 


DANCING. 


29 


quiries:  ^  Do  men  admire  a  physician  in  the 
giddy  whirl  of  the  voluptuous  dance,  or  a 
judge  in  the  stream  of  the  silly  gallopade,  a 
presbyter  exhibiting  his  prowess  in  the  reel,  a 
bishop  sloping  his  person  to  the  quaint  move¬ 
ments  of  the  minuet,  or  an  archbishop  labor¬ 
ing  at  the  agilities  of  a  Highland  fling?  Yea, 
even  character  is  allowed  to  have  its  weight. 
Literary  or  scientific  men,  if  they  only  say, 
‘  I  don’t  usually  attend  such  amusements/  or 
‘  I  never  dance/  are  at  once  excused.”  I 
might  multiply  similar  opinions  of  distin¬ 
guished  laymen  from  Cicero  to  Daniel  Web¬ 
ster.  The  world  does  not  expect  or  approve 
of  such  characters  in  the  dance;  and  if  it 
ever  does  induce  them  to  enter  the  charmed 
circle,  it  regards  them  with  a  loss  of  respect 
and  reverence  which  largely  detracts  from 
their  professional  standing  and  usefulness. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  heart  it  respects  that 
official  dignity  or  consistent  piety  which  re¬ 
fuses  to  participate  in  this  amusement.  If  it 
seeks  to  entrap  the  Church,  it  is  only  to  dis¬ 
arm  opposition  to  a  recreation  which  is  not  de¬ 
fended  because  of  its  moral  elements,  but  sim¬ 
ply  on  the  score  of  its  asserted  innocence. 


30 


DANCING. 


(3.)  Dancing  is  opposed  to  the  precepts  of 
the  Bible  concerning  our  personal  life.  It  is 
opposed  to  that  sobriety,  dignity  and  earnest¬ 
ness  of  life  enjoined  in  such  words  as  “See 
that  ye  walk  circumspectly,  not  as  fools,  but 
as  wise,  redeeming  th  *time,  because  the  days 
are  evil ;”  to  that  new  birth  and  life  expressed 
thus :  “  As  obedient  children,  not  fashioning 
yourselves  according  to  your  former  lusts  in 
your  ignorance;”  to  that  crucifixion  to  the 
world  enjoined  by  such  counsel  as  “  Be  not 
conformed  to  the  world,”  “  Whatsoever  is 
born  of  God  overcometh  the  world ;”  to  that 
elevated  life  suggested  by  such  words  as  “  Set 
your  affection  on  things  above,  not  on  things 
on  earth,”  “  Love  not  the  world,  neither  the 
things  that  are  in  the  world ;”  to  that  re¬ 
ligious  solicitude  and  diligence  inspired  by 
such  warnings  as  “  Let  us  therefore  fear  lest 
a  promise  being  left  us  of  entering  into  his 
rest,  any  of  you  should  seem  to  come  short 
of  it;”  to  that  loving,  thoughtful  example 
and  influence  inculcated  by  such  words  as 
“Avoid  even  the  appearance  of  evil,”  “If 
meat  make  my  brother  to  offend,  I  will  eat 
no  more  flesh  while  the  world  standeth;” 


DANCING. 


31 


and  to  such  consecration  to  God  as  is  ex¬ 
pressed  by  these  words :  “  Let  your  light  so 
shine  before  men  that  they  may  see  your 
good  works  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is 
in  heaven/*  “  Glorify  God  in  your  body  and 
in  your  spirit,  which  are  his.**  Thus  might 
your  memory  add  Scripture  to  Scripture,  the 
spirit  and  scope  of  each  of  which  would  con¬ 
tain  an  unmistakable  sentence  against  a  social 
amusement  as  questionable  as  this. 

(4.)  The  habit  of  dancing  is  unfriendly  to 
Christian  life  and  growth.  It  unfits  body, 
mind  and  soul  for  prayer,  spiritual  thought, 
communion  with  God,  and  other  private  re¬ 
ligious  duties.  It  impairs  personal  consecra¬ 
tion  to  the  love  and  work  of  Jesus.  Its  ele¬ 
ment  of  sensualism  undermines  Christian 
virtue  and  chills  regenerate  emotion.  It 
awakens  and  nourishes  pride,  jealousy  and 
Others  of  the  worst  passions  of  our  nature. 
It  affords  food  and  stimulus  to  the  worst 
forms  of  gossip.  If  any  professed  Chris¬ 
tians  deny  this,  let  them  compare  their  pres¬ 
ent  views  and  feelings  about  dancing  with 
those  they  held  and  felt  at  conversion  or 
during  the  revival  of  religious  principles  and 


32 


DANCING. 


activities.  In  short,  to  show  the  completeness 
of  the  antagonism  between  this  amusement 
and  the  holy  religion  of  Christ,  study  with 
candor  as  well  as  with  charity  those  churches 
and  professors  who  excuse,  practice  and  advo¬ 
cate  dancing.  Are  not  such  churches  without 
marked  tokens  of  the  presence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  given  to  external  observances,  unevan- 
gelic  in  spirit,  with  a  lower  standard  of  per¬ 
sonal  consecration,  undervaluing  religious 
privileges  and  pleasures,  extenuating  many 
other  worldly  amusements  and  questionable 
pursuits,  and  ready  to  open  the  privileges 
of  the  sacraments  to  all  who  desire  them 
without  close  scrutiny  of  their  religious 
principles  and  experience?  Are  not  those 
members  of  the  Church  who  practice  this 
amusement  generally  weak  or  ignorant  or 
formal  or  worldly  ?  Did  you  ever  know  one 
who  was  prominent  for  dancing  also  eminent 
for  piety  ?  Do  they  not  generally  avoid  and 
lightly  esteem  the  more  pious  and  earnest  of 
their  fellow-Christians,  and  in  their  associa¬ 
tions,  resorts,  conversation,  reading,  amuse¬ 
ments  and  conduct  of  affairs  show  more  of 
the  spirit  of  the  world  than  of  grace  ?  As  a 


DANCING. 


33 


rule,  are  they  not  so  liberal  in  their  views  and 
habits  and  speech,  or  so  silent  and  undemon¬ 
strative  as  to  religion,  that  strangers  would 
never  suspect  their  profession?  There  are 
dancing  Christians  active  in  certain  depart¬ 
ments  of  church-work  and  habitually  attend¬ 
ant  upon  religious  services,  but  is  their  relig¬ 
ious  life  broad  and  deep  enough,  or  are  their 
numbers  great  enough,  to  negative  the  in¬ 
quiries  above  made?  I  believe  the  concur¬ 
rent  successive  testimonies  of  the  devout  chil¬ 
dren  of  God  are  the  testimony  of  the  Holy 
Comforter  whom  Jesus  promised  to  his  dis¬ 
ciples  to  teach  and  guide  them  in  all  thir  gs, 
and  the  concurrent  successive  voice  of  the 
Church  has  been  emphatically  against  dan¬ 
cing  as  an  amusement  in  Christian  famiiies 
and  society. 

Near  the  time  of  the  first  writing  of  this 
paper,  a  young  lady  in  all  the  splendor  and 
prodigality  of  a  rich  ball-room  dress  was 
found  in  her  chamber  in  the  cold  embrace  of 
death  by  those  who  came  to  bear  her  to  the 
ball.  About  the  same  time  in  a  Western  city 
another  maiden,  amid  the  merry  ring  of  music 
and  giddy  maze  of  the  dance,  fell  dead  upon 


34 


DANCING. 


the  floor.  Close  to  the  time  and  place  of  this 
writing  a  young  man  in  the  eager,  exciting 
dance  from  the  arms  of  a  beauty  fell  bleed¬ 
ing  to  the  floor,  and  was  borne  away  to  a  bed 
of  sudden  death.  Why  did  the  silence  of  the 
sepulchre  come  down  with  dread  and  guilt 
upon  these  gay  and  happy  companies  ?  Why 
did  they  hastily  separate  and  fly  to  their 
homes  as  if  from  the  presence  of  a  judg¬ 
ment?  Why  did  the  blood  chill  as  the  eye 
fell  upon  the  intelligence  widely  scattered  by 
the  press?  Why  do  you  now  chill  as  I  fee¬ 
bly  repeat  these  facts?  Wrhy  do  our  eyes 
follow  with  instinctive  fear  those  young  souls 
in  their  sudden  summons  to  the  bar  of  God  ? 
Tell  me  why,  if  the  dance  be  that  altogether 
innocent  thing  which  some  would  make  it  out 
to  be.  Why  is  death  in  the  dance,  at  the 
card-table,  in  the  theatre  or  on  a  Sabbath 
journey  associated  with  peculiar  sadness?  A 
bereaved  parent  can  tell  with  no  shrinking  of 
respect  for  the  departed  of  the  death  of  a  son 
or  daughter  in  the  street,  on  the  thoroughfare, 
at  the  table  of  refreshment,  in  some  happy 
social  circle  or  on  the  field  of  battle,  but 
why  this  agonized  hesitation,  this  uncon- 


DANCING. 


35 


trolled  grief,  these  welling  sobs  and  scald¬ 
ing  tears,  as  parental  lips  tell  of  the  soul 
of  some  loved  child  from  the  dance 

to  the  tribunal  of  Goc^^J 

Dancing,  as  we  know  it,  is  a  questionable 
and  dangerous  amusement.  In  such  belief  it 
must  not  receive  approval,  nor,  what  would 
be  worse,  must  it  receive  connivance.  We 
should  meet  it  at  the  threshold  of  our  fold 
and  rebuke  its  presence.  If  any  persist  in 
its  practice  and  encouragement,  when  they 
and  we  stand  at  the  bar  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  they  must  acquit  us  of  unfaithfulness 
and  bloodguiltHfcss  in  this  thing.  But,  Chris¬ 
tian  brethren,  I  would  not  have  you  indifferent 
as  to  this  amusement.  For  the  sake  of  your 
higher  life  in  Jesus,  I  entreat  you,  touch  not 
the  unclean  thing.  By  the  sorrows  of  many 
pious  parents  whose  children  have  stifled  con¬ 
victions  in  the  dance,  by  the  death-agony  of 
many  youths  which  this  amusement  has  sentl 
apparently  unprepared  to  meet  God,  by  the 
grief  of  parents  over  many  whom  it  has  sent 
to  untimely  graves,  by  the  lifelong  remorse 
which  many  will  carry  to  their  graves,  by  the 
ample  testimony  of  the  world,  the  Church  and 


36  . . . 

3  0112  072400614 

word  of  God  against  it,  I  Wi threat  you,  toucn 
not  the  unclean  thing.  Fojp  t^e  sake  of  your 
children  and  frie^^^or  the  sake  of  weak  and 
wandering  loverjj^^neasure,  for  the  sake  of 
the  dear  Church  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  1 
entreat  you,  touch  not  the  unclean  thing. 
“  Finally,  whatsoever  things  are  true,  what-j 
soever  things  are  honest,  whatsoever  things! 
are  just,  whatsoever  things  are  pure,  whatso-j 
ever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things  are 
of  good  report;  if  there  be  any  virtue,  and  if 
there  be  any  praise,  think  on  these  things.5' 
Phil.  iv.  8. 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 
MAY  J  i  1933 

UNIVEKSlIY  Uf  ILLINOIS. 


Presbyterian  Board  of  0,!bHcatlon,  1334  Chestnut  St.,  Phili.1 


